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<br />002:1JJ <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Resources, the Colorado River Commission of Nevada, and the Irrigation & Electrical Districts <br />Association of Arizona. Additionally, staffin Reclamation's Lower Colorado Regional Office have <br />indicated that they have received approximately 75 written comments regarding the DEIS. <br />Reclamation is now considering the oral and written comments that were received to prepare its final <br />Environmental Impact Statement. <br /> <br />As part of Reclamation's process to finalize the Environmental Impact Statement on the <br />Interim Surplus Criteria, a technical meeting with the Basin state representatives was held on <br />September 151 to discuss the modeling studies and assumptions that were used in the DEIS. As a <br />result of that meeting, Reclamation, in consultation with the states, is revising each state's <br />consumptive use files and including the capability for modeling intrastate off-stream banking. The <br />model still will not contain the capability for modeling interstate banking transactions. <br /> <br />Colorado River Endangered Snecies <br /> <br />The Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program (LCRMSCP) Steering <br />Committee met on August 24th in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mr. Zimmerman announced that <br />Mr. Christopher Harris had accepted a position with the Colorado River Board effective August 28, <br />2000. Mr. Zimmerman also announced that Mr. Worthley was retiring from the Board and State <br />service and would no longer be serving as the Point-of-Contact for the Steering Committee. The <br />Steering Committee accepted Mr. Worthley's resignation as the Point-of Contact and, by consensus, <br />appointed Mr. Harris as the new MSCP Point-of-Contact. <br /> <br />Unfortunately, the primary LCRMSCP contractor (Ogden) has not met the expectations of <br />the Steering Committee, therefore, on August 24th the Steering Committee approved a major <br />modification to Ogden's contract. Ogden was not agreeable to the modification. The Steering <br />Committee, therefore, instructed the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to terminate the contract, <br />which it has done. A new Request for Proposal and scope-of-work is being prepared and <br />expectations are that a new contractor will be on board in 6-8 weeks. <br /> <br />Regarding to the Defenders afWildlife vs. Babbilllawsuit, the California Attorney General's <br />Office is expected to request intervener status in the near future. I have included in the Board's <br />handout material a copy of my declaration in support of the petition to intervene. Additionally, it is <br />my understanding that the United States has requested a 30-day extension in order to prepare their <br />response to the plaintiffs' allegations, which has been granted by U.S. District Court Judge James <br />Robertson. <br /> <br />Lower Colorado Water Supnlv Proiect <br /> <br />Over the last 18-24 months we have discussed the history and purpose of the Lower Colorado <br />Water Supply Project (Project), starting with its enactment by Congress in November 1988, and the <br />completion of Project facilities in December 1998. The 110 officially took over the project facilities, <br />as operating agent, effective January I, 2000. <br /> <br />3 <br />